Nikolay Nikolov has been dreaming of flying since he was a child. He did not become an astronaut, which is the dream of many boys, but he devoted himself to aircraft modelling. In 2000, together with his friends, he decided to build his first helicopter, which would have been a two-seater with a lightweight construction. The attempt was unsuccessful but the disappointment did not stop him from pursuing his dream of flying. He went to study abroad and in 2008 became the first licensed pilot of an autogyro in Bulgaria.

What is this interesting aircraft?

The autogyro, also known as a gyrocopter, is a much more economical machine in comparison to an airplane or a helicopter. The maximum flight altitude is up to 3000 meters. The machine can fly with a speed of 35 to 180 kilometers per hour, which allows it to be used for surveillance and observation of hard-to-reach areas, for security, for signalling in case of fire, participation in search and rescue operations, as well as in traditional flights for entertainment.

It is made of carbon and plexiglass and its tank allows a flight of up to four hours as the required fuel is ordinary gasoline. Custom-made models fly in New Zealand, Los Angeles, Germany, France, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Australia and Canada. The company produces one autogyro per month.

We asked Mr. Nikolov what is the main difference between the machine created in Pravets and a helicopter?

"The essential difference between them is in the aerodynamics of the flight. The autogyro is a machine that flies relying on unpowered rotor for lift, as it spins freely due to autorotation as air passes through it. The air flow is formed by the engine and the propeller, which pushes the machine forward. The air enters under the rotor and creates lift. It is controlled by changing the axis of the rotor's tilt, which also changes the lift vector."

One of the advantages of the autogyro is the fact that it requires a small area for landing.

The question where and under what conditions emergency or regular landings of various aircraft are carried out is increasingly relevant at the backdrop of the trend of transforming a number of airports in the country into industrial zones and solar parks, as well as due to the lack of maintenance of a large part of the still existing airport infrastructure:

"We can only protest against such decisions that destroy what was created so many years ago. The first thing we broke was the cradle of our aviation - the State Airplane Workshops in Bozhurishte. In the village of Kondofrey (Western Bulgaria) a solar park would be built and there are many other airports in our country that are in terrible condition."

According to Nikolov, the airport in Ruse is one of the few existing ones in the country that has been revived and could be used.

The meeting with Mr. Nikolov at one of the events of the Bulgaria Wants You initiative provoked the question of what advice he would give to young people who are faced with the choice of staying in Bulgaria or pursuing their career abroad:

"The place for development is in Bulgaria as other countries are sufficiently developed and there will not be such opportunities there as in our country. We need all kinds of people here - engineers, pilots... People around the world appreciate us. We hope that they will appreciate us here too and that there will be people willing to join the team. Our goal is not just to sell, but to create a larger circle of friends with whom we share our passion for flying and give opportunities to young people who want to do similar things," the entrepreneur said and urged young people to keep dreaming, as dreams can be achievable.

Author: Yoan Kolev

Publication in English: Alexander Markov

Photos: Niki Rotor Aviation